germinate
pronunciation
How to pronounce germinate in British English:
UK [ˈdʒɜːmɪneɪt]
How to pronounce germinate in American English:
US [ˈdʒɜːrmɪneɪt]
-
- Verb:
- produce buds, branches, or germinate
- work out
- cause to grow or sprout
Word Origin
- germinate
- germinate: see germ
- germinate (v.)
- c. 1600, probably a back-formation from germination. Figurative use from 1640s. Related: Germinated; germinating. Earlier germynen (mid-15c.) was from Old French germiner or directly from Latin germinare.
Example
- 1. The idea for the organization began to germinate 16 years ago .
- 2. And although the seeds of some plants don 't remain viable for long , the seeds of others can germinate after sitting in the soil for decades or ( occasionally ) centuries .
- 3. But as my friend flemming says , sometimes you have to wait for the old deadwood hogging all the sunlight to collapse before the new seeds can germinate ( or else you need to be a fungus ) .
- 4. The point is that theses seeds aren 't going to be " cared for , " rather they 're going to be dispersed , and each seed will rely on the luck of its landing to germinate and grow .
- 5. Most notably , as jon keeley , an ecologist at america 's geological survey , pointed out to the meeting , the seeds of between 100 and 150 species of californian wild flower germinate in response to smoke .